The Delhi High Court granted bail in the absence of issuance of notice under section 70 of the Goods and Service Tax ( GST ) Act, 2017.
The applicant sought bail in the instant case and was taken in custody for alleged availment and passing on of fraudulent Input Tax Credit ( ITC ) to the tune of Rs. 5,38,81,443/-. Since the amount involved is more than Rs. 5 Crore, the offence was deemed non-bailable and therefore, the application seeking bail was opposed by the Revenue. It was also argued by the applicant that notice under Section 41A CrPC was not issued and the applicant was arrested just after the issuance of summons under Section 70 of the Central Goods and Service Tax ( CGST ) Act, 2017.
The Special Court while allowing the bail application held that the applicant is not a habitual offender and does not impose any flight risk. It was further noted that the offence is Rs. 38,81,443/- above the bailable offence of Rs. 5 Cr and the entities who supplied the alleged transactions are still active and filing returns on the GST portal. It was finally held that since the offence has a punishment of 5 years, the offence falls under Section 41A of CrPC, but since no notice under Section 41A was issued, the bail application of the applicant was allowed subject to conditions.
Support our journalism by subscribing to Taxscan premium. Follow us on Telegram for quick updates
